Liftoff
by Amatea
Summary: Angela wakes up and gives her lover bird Fareeha a kiss goodbye.


After a moment's quiet, Angela Ziegler brings the mug to her careful lips and takes a sip. She stands before a kitchen island in a sea of metal, feeling very out of place in Forward Base Numbani. The door going out, thick enough to fend off a missile strike and sealed with a biometric security lock, reminds her of the terrible purpose of this place, and her own mission that runs parallel. Next to that door is a brightly lit glass enclosure fit into the wall with a pair of laser blasters inside, emblazoned on the barrel: 'COMBAT READY.' Angela lets the warmth of her tea engulf the thought of staring down the sights of those guns. Her resolve builds, a sense of purpose revealed through her furrowed brow as she prepares herself for an uneasy goodbye.

From behind tall glass walls, a bright mirrored cityscape shines light on Angela's carpeted path through the hallway. She walks through another checkpoint down the hospital-clean hallway, an archway of metal detectors flanked by two armed guards. Ahead of her is a tornado of activity, the main air hangar abuzz with the preparations for another mission. Her heart racing, she turns a corner and wipes the sight away from view, weaving past men with guns, handcarts of missile heads, and engineers covered in grease. She hurries through the hallway and down a flight of stairs away from the commotion, and the noise abov sinks into a deep rumble as she heads to a small rolling garage door. Behind it, a whirring sound bellows from a metal throat.

Med Bay 1A, Angela's hallowed sanctum of healing, welcomes her with the familiar glow of biotech serum. She examines the bright yellow vial pressed inches away from her eye before smirking in satisfaction. 'This will keep her safe' she reassures herself as she places the vial in a metal box perforated with holes, each one with a glowing vial inserted within. Faster than a gust of wind, she goes to scrutinize all of her data scattered around, looking at charts, scrolling through touch pads, and finally glancing over the vials in the metal box again. Angela is satisfied in shorter order than she anticipated, only needing three minutes to finally sigh in relief and be on her way out. Hopefully, Angela thinks to herself, Fareeha won't have to use the serum inside.

She walks briskly towards the air hangar, thinking of how their reunion happened so fast. Fareeha answered Winston's call before she did and joined the revived Overwatch with Lena and Mei. Two weeks later, Angela visited her home in Sweden to find the four of them waiting for her at the airport. Grudgingly, she joined only to protect the child of Ana Amari. What a wild ride, Angela joyfully mused.

She finds her wedding ring sitting on a table next to the door and puts in in her pocket. Her hand passes over a photograph of Fareeha in a motorcycle jacket, running towards the camera while Angela flies atop her shoulders.

Feeling the Numbani heat on the helipad just outside, her fear and worries abate as her body warms up under the sun. A breeze kicks up, causing her lab coat to billow up and down like a swan's wings. Fareeha, clad in her gleaming Raptora suit, waits next to the transport primed to whisk her away to danger. With a loving sway to her voice and thoughts, Angela calls out to her rocket queen. "Habibti!"

She can see Fareeha blushing from across the helipad, hear her singing "Angela!" over the deafening wind. Pulled at the chest, Angela's feet begin their first steps before she can command them, and soon enough she's close enough to embrace her precious Pharah.

Only…she's holding this box of biotech vials. Realizing this, her passion scatters to the wind, her childish smile melts away as she presents the box to Fareeha. Wordlessly, Pharah takes the box and nods. Both lovers take a moment to stare into each other's eyes in longing. Days before, tears have already been shed. Promises reaffirmed. Pleasures indulged. Angela's lips curl a little as she offers a tired smile. A plea rests behind her front teeth, pushed from behind by love and concern. ' _Let me fly with you'_ sits on the tip of her tongue.

Fareeha swoops in to snatch those words out of her mouth. Angela's lips yield to electric waves of passion. The sensation stilled the doctor's worried mind, imparting to her the courage of a raptor diving at speed towards its prey. These kisses were normally enjoyed as 'pick-me-ups' during the first week of restoring Overwatch, and as time went on they indulged so much that now they kiss almost at every meeting, even as Pharah dons in her Raptora suit. Angela's eyelids flutter, then fling open as she pulls away. "Keep my channel open" Angela says, tapping her ear.

Fareeha can't hold back her bashful smile. On most missions, Angela monitors the vitals of the whole team through sensors on their bodies. These systems use a dedicated communication channel that only Angela can hear, which means the good doctor has full leisure to whisper poetic nothings right into Fareeha's waiting ear. Back on the transport, as Pharah watches Mercy walk across the helipad, she notices her hand fiddle with her ear. A voice crackles and pops softly like a splash of water against her ear.

"You're so beautiful when you're flying." Angela says softly. The weight of her mission is too great on Pharah's shoulders to elicit a blush. But if Angela was sitting next to her, she would pull her in for a hug and not let go until they touch the ground again.

Angela feels the wind pick up, the currents pushing and pulling her towards her purpose. Right now, Overwatch needs it's only doctor in the mission control room. She takes care of all 22 members of Overwatch. They are a skeleton crew, Winston's first few to answer the recall. If something happens to any one soul, or god forbid, Fareeha…

As the door closes behind her, and she's back in the metal gullet of Forward Base Numbani, the mortal danger hanging over them all suddenly drops on her like a cave-in. But she is unfazed, effortlessly parting the dust and debris in her mind. Before she fell in love, she would find herself blinded by clouds of dust.

No more. She follows Pharah's tailwind up into hopeful skies now. Together they are the two wings that make Overwatch what it is: the promise of justice and mercy for a world in need of both.

Mercy puts on her ring and takes a deep breath. The mission begins in 60 seconds.


End file.
